This Indian Yellow Rice recipe is fluffy and flavorful. Its vibrant yellow color comes from ground turmeric, an anti-inflammatory spice. Make this healthy side dish in less than 30 minutes!

An Indian Rice Dish with golden raisins and cashews.

Indian Rice Dish

  • This recipe is gluten-free and vegan, but it full of amazing flavor!
  • White rice is easier to digest than brown rice, so this recipe is appropriate for most diets.
  • It contains turmeric which is believed to be an anti-inflammatory spice plus cashews which are crunchy and healthy.

How to Make This Recipe

Step One

Rinse your white basmati rice in a fine-mesh sieve. Let the water run until it’s clear.

Step Two

Bring rice and water or vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Step Three

Add remaining ingredients except for the cashews and cook 15-20 minutes.

Step Four

Fluff the Indian Yellow Rice and top with cashews before serving.

Fluff the yellow rice in the saucepan.

Is this Recipe Healthy?

  • White rice sometimes gets a bad rap, but white rice is easier to digest than brown rice.
  • You can lower the glycemic effect of white rice by eating it with lots of high-fiber vegetables and a clean protein.
  • White rice is also a very low allergenic food, so it is appropriate for a lot of people with food sensitivities.

Top Tips

  • Rinse the rice before cooking. This removes starch from the surface of the rice and prevents the grains from becoming too sticky when cooked.
  • If you don’t have a cinnamon stick, you can use 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead.
  • Don’t add the cashews until just before serving. This will help keep them nice and crunchy!
  • Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days.
Yellow Indian Rice on a fork.

Other Healthy Side Dish Recipes You Might Like

This recipe also goes perfectly with my Coconut Lentil Curry!

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Indian Yellow Rice Recipe

indian yellow rice in bowl

★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews

This Indian Yellow Rice recipe is fluffy and flavorful. It’s vibrant yellow color comes from ground turmeric, an anti-inflammatory spice.

  • Author: Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Gluten-free, vegan, easy
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long-grain white rice (Jasmine or Basmati)
  • 2 cups water or reduced-sodium vegetable broth*
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup chopped cashews

Instructions

  1. Place the rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse it under cool, running water. Pour the rinsed rice into a medium saucepan. Add the water or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high.
  2. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Stir in the turmeric, cinnamon, cumin seeds, salt, pepper, and raisins.
  3. Cover the pot and let it cook for 15-20 minutes. The rice is done when it has absorbed all of the liquid. 
  4. Use a fork to gently fluff the rice. Sprinkle the cashews on top and serve warm. 

Notes

*You can use water or vegetable broth to cook the rice. The vegetable broth will give more flavor to the dish than using water.

Store any leftover rice in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

If you don’t have a cinnamon stick, you can use ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead.

Keywords: indian rice, yellow rice recipe, how to make yellow rice

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